HPV & Cancer

HPV and Cancer

While HPV is an extremely common infection, and there is a link between HPV and cervical, anal, penile, some vulval and throat cancers, it is important to know that very few women and men with HPV will ever develop cancer.

Most of the HPV types that produce warts on the genitals are not associated with development of cell abnormalities that progress to cancer.

It is also unlikely that HPV infection alone is sufficient to cause cancer. The HPV infection is only one event in a multistep pathway to cancer. While many possible co-factors have been suggested, the relative risks of each have yet to be determined. However, some of the most commonly implicated co-factors include smoking, and a weakened immune system.

Unlike for cervical cancer, there is no current effective screening test for HPV-related cancers affecting the throat, penile or anal regions.